In honor of St. Patrick's Day, join Melanie McComb live on Facebook for an overview of Irish databases and resources available from American Ancestors. Start researching your Irish family history today!
Take your research skills to the next level! With the sheer number of online resources at your fingertips, it's easy to dive in to your family history research without any formal training as a genealogist. This intensive three-day program will teach you how to tackle genealogical problems like a pro. Join us for live broadcasts Thursday, April 8 through Saturday, April 10.
Last Chance! Virtual Research Tour to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. is home to some of the most important repositories for genealogists. Whether you are doing research on your veteran ancestor, immigrant ancestor, homesteading ancestor—or simply want to leverage published resources, newspapers, and maps in your family history research—our nation’s capital holds the records you need. This four-day virtual research program will bring D.C. to you! Join us for live sessions March 24-27.
FREE on AmericanAncestors.org! The Irish Genealogy Subject Guide provides everything you need to get started researching your Irish family history. Resources listed include record groups, how-to guides, maps, newspapers, websites, and more.
Spotlight: Bay Area Genealogical Society, Green Bay, WI
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Green Bay is the seat of Brown County, which located in eastern Wisconsin. In 1976, members of the Bay Area Genealogical Society began a cemetery project with the goal of documenting all of the cemeteries in Brown County. This project led to the creation of the burials database. Use the website’s Gravesite Search tool to explore the index. The database can be searched by first and last name. You can search all seventy-four cemeteries at one time or limit your search to a single cemetery by selecting from the dropdown list. The data fields in the search results are last name, first name, cemetery, and grave location, plus birth and death dates.
Join us next week for a conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning historians John Matteson, author of A Worse Place Than Hell, and guest moderator Debby Applegate about the cultural impact of the Civil War. Plus, coming in April, Stellene Volandes reveals the stories behind Jewels that Made History, and Tobey Pearl provides a riveting account of America's first murder trial in Terror to the Wicked.
11 Things Found Buried Under Parking Lots Here's a look at some amazing historic finds that were located under parking lots, including the bones of king, a Viking parliament, and a Victorian bathhouse.
Cromwell’s Controversial Cookbook On display in the Cromwell Museum in England a cookbook titled The Court and Kitchen of Elizabeth, Commonly Called Joan Cromwell, the Wife of the Late Usurper, which claims to contain the personal recipes collected by Oliver Cromwell’s wife Elizabeth.
South Bailey Sewer Lamp “These lamps were created to expel sewer gases after an event known as The Great Stink.”
10 Years Later, The Rescued Snapshots Damaged In Japan's Tsunami “Photographer Munemasa Takahashi's Lost & Found Project grew out of Memory Salvage, a volunteer effort to gather and preserve family photographs scattered among the debris in hopes of returning them to their owners.”
Last week's survey asked about your matrilineal line. We received 3,901 responses. The results are:
1%, One (my mother)
3%, Two
10%, Three
19%, Four
19%, Five
12%, Six
8%, Seven
6%, Eight
4%, Nine
5%, Ten
3%, Eleven
13%, Twelve or more
<1%, I have not been able to document the names of any women in my matrilineal line.
<1%, I don’t know.
This week's question asks about your ancestors who moved in and out of New England. Take the survey now
Want to share your thoughts on the survey with us? We are always happy to hear from our readers. Email us at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Readers Respond: Matrilineal Lines
by Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked how many generations of women you have documented on your matrilineal line. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Michael Meggison of Penfield, New York: My matrilineal descent is an incredible 15 generations. It leads from my mother, Marie Ann (Santangelo) Meggison Kirchgessner, to Portia Trovatino, born about 1550 on the island of Lipari, Messina, Italy. Two factors helped me establish such a long lineage. My great-great-grandmother on this line, Olimpia Lambrosa Famularo Nalbone (1876-1960), was from a noble background, and the church records of Lipari, which were in terrific condition, were filmed by the LDS church.
Margie Stehle of Palo Alto, California: I was able to join the DAR in 2020 using a matrilineal line back to my fourth great-grandmother, Bridget Parmenter (1764-1828), daughter of my patriot, Deliverance Parmenter Jr. of Sudbury, Massachusetts. I believe that I was the first person to join using Deliverance's daughter (all previous members had joined through one of his sons), and it was exciting to be able to follow a completely female line to her. Beyond Bridget, I have documentation for another four generations of women, back to Elizabeth Moore, who was born in England in 1621 and was the wife of Henry Rice. I only have a first name for her mother, my ninth great-grandmother: Bridget, wife of John Moore.
Bill Hallett of Newburyport, Massachusetts: Following family lines in Sweden is challenging, to say the least. My mother’s grandmother came from Sweden. She was born Ida Elise Petersdotter, meaning her father was Peter. Her mother was Emma Petersdotter, as her father was also Peter. Emma’s mother was Maria Andersdotter. Having surnames change with each generation makes for difficult family research.
Barbara Bradley Petura of Pullman, Washington: Thanks to church archives in northern Germany, I have traced my matrilineal ancestors back nine generations to my seventh great-grandmother Metta Oldenburg, who was born in 1719 and married to Johann Sommer. Because I took a mitochondrial DNA test, I also know that my maternal DNA haplogroup is an offshoot of U5b, one of the earliest female haplogroups in Europe, reaching back to the Ice Age. I encourage people to get their mtDNA tested for more insights on their deep ancestry.
Learn From Our Experts at Upcoming Conferences
April 1-May 31: New England Regional Genealogical Conference 2021 This virtual conference will feature speakers, live chats, panel discussions, a virtual exhibit hall, and more. Hear presentations from Scott Andrew Bartley, Pam Holland, David Allen Lambert, Melanie McComb, and Meghan Siekman. Learn More
April 9-10: The Bowen Center Spring Conference: Unlocking the Mystery of the Family Emotional History Featuring guest lecture by American Ancestors and NEHGS Executive Vice President and COO Ryan J. Woods. Learn More
